How someone always misses

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How someone always misses (Heinrich Wilhelm Storck)
How someone always misses
Heinrich Wilhelm Storck , 1842/1843
Chalk lithograph , single sheet print and leaflet
30.3 x 27 cm
Library of the Humboldt University in Berlin , probably reproduced in the Leipzig printing works of J. G. Fritzsche

The lithography As someone always goes wrong is a caricature of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV , which was distributed as a leaflet in 1842/1843 . The mock picture from the history painter and caricaturist Heinrich Wilhelm Storck criticizes the monarch's attempt to legitimize his rule solely by placing himself in the dynastic tradition of Frederick the Great . The depiction is said to have led Friedrich Wilhelm IV to abolish freedom of images in Prussia in a cabinet order of February 3, 1843.

Historical context

Prussia in the late 1830s and early 1840s was marked by enormous contradictions: On the one hand, the first railways were built; the number of factories increased significantly. On the other hand there were landlords' rights and feudal traditions continue. The Stein-Hardenberg reforms left the process of transformation from feudal to civil society unfinished. While the Prussian government continued to favor the nobility, the increasingly self-confident middle class insisted on political participation in the state. After the death of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. on June 7, 1840, the bourgeoisie directed all hopes towards the accession to the throne of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The new monarch became King of Prussia almost one hundred years to the day after Frederick the Great. Like his great-great-uncle, he too had a reputation for being a musically educated aesthetician. Friedrich Wilhelm IV himself admired his ancestors, who not only shaped Prussia into a major European power, but also generously promoted art and culture. Although Friedrich Wilhelm IV rejected the deism and enlightenment ideas of the "philosopher on the king's throne", he wanted to use the popularity of his ancestors to justify his own claim to power over this descent. For example, he moved into Sanssouci Palace , which had not been inhabited since Frederick's death, as a summer residence. However, Friedrich Wilhelm IV was unable to meet the expectations that the bourgeoisie had of the successor of Frederick the Great. Critical intellectuals saw in Frederick the Great primarily a liberal enlightener who had renewed the state through reforms. They therefore expected that Frederick William IV would give them a constitution based on the British model. Instead, from the point of view of the bourgeoisie, the king stuck to a backward-looking policy and soon disappointed expectations. A little later, comparisons between Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Frederick the Great turned out to be in his disadvantage: the Berliners mocked the ghost of Sanssouci . It was said that a headless King Frederick was haunted there.

description

Terrace in front of Sanssouci Palace - scene of the caricature

As an ever occurs next is Friedrich Wilhelm IV. As Puss in Boots . With the left paw he wears a champagne bottle, with the right one exuberant goblet. With his oversized boots, Friedrich Wilhelm IV fails to follow in the footsteps of Frederick the Great. He cannot catch up with Frederick the Great, who is on a winter walk on the left edge of the picture. Friedrich turns his back on his descendants. The drunken staggering Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Can only toast his role model from a distance. The snow-covered garden side of Sanssouci Palace can be seen in the background.

interpretation

The motif of the Puss in Boots can be traced back to the fairy tale of the same name, which the French writer Charles Perrault added to his collection of stories from 1696. In 1797, the story was revised by Ludwig Tieck , who later read Friedrich Wilhelm IV. As in the fairy tale, Friedrich Wilhelm IV also presumes to be someone he is not. This statement is supported by the reputation of the cat in the 19th century as a symbol of hypocrisy and falsehood. The gap between the claim to power and reality is thus drastically emphasized, but not noticed by the portrayed Friedrich Wilhelm IV due to his drunkenness. Just as Louis Philippe I was often depicted as a pear in caricatures, sparkling wine or champagne bottles developed into a personal attribute of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. They could even be used as a representative of his person. Originally, it was alluded to the speeches of Friedrich Wilhelm IV, overflowing with ideas, which earned the monarch the nickname “talkative” or “champagne freak”. In contrast to Frederick the Great, the clumsy demeanor is said to depict him as a weak ruler who cannot bring himself to reform. Heinrich von Treitschke , a historian and political publicist of the German Empire , was rather hostile to the caricature. He saw in her an indication of "how deep the gossip hissing everywhere had already eaten into popular opinion".

consequences

The freedom of images in Prussia was only supposed to last eight months. Just as the French King Louis-Philippe I withdrew the concession he had made to the press in 1835, Friedrich Wilhelm IV was also sniffed at the unexpected extent of the critical presentations. On February 3, 1843, shortly after the public appearance of the caricature How someone always goes wrong , he wrote a cabinet order in which it says:

“I was reluctant to see to what extent the nonsense has risen in recent times to demean and mock religion and the state by means of images, as well as to injure morality and personal honor. In order to prevent this nonsense for the consequence, I hereby determine that pictorial representations, through which morality is grossly violated, may not be reproduced at all, but caricatures, caricatures, caricatures or mockery of any kind may not be reproduced in any other way (...) than if the previously Approval of the local police authority (...) has been obtained. "

The caricatures approved by the police authorities from 1843 onwards did not attract much attention. For example, a pictorial satire of the "German Opposition" approved on August 27, 1843 showed a smoker on the street who opposed the public smoking ban. However, the Prussian government was no longer able to enforce a complete suppression of unpleasant images. In the revolutionary year of 1848 , How one always comes next to it appears in the Leipzig weekly Der Leuchtthurm - an indication of the popularity the caricature regained after years of being banned. After the failure of the revolution, the portrayal of Friedrich Wilhelm IV as a Puss in Boots disappeared from the cultural and political consciousness.

literature

  • Remigius Brückmann: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann, Berlin 1981, pp. 147–161.
  • Gisold Lammel: The King as a Bottle. In: Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Artist and King, for his 200th birthday. Fichter, Frankfurt am Main 1995, pp. 178-184.
  • Hilmar Frank: Friedrich Wilhelm IV. And the love of caricature. The Royal Police Commissioner's unknown collection. In: Peter Krüger , Julius H. Schoeps (ed.): The misunderstood monarch. Friedrich Wilhelm IV. In his time. Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam 1997, pp. 267–286.
  • Rolf Thomas Senn: Puss in Boots - a misunderstanding? Poet, King and Public Opinion. In: Jörg Meiner, Jan Werquet (ed.): Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Of Prussia. Politics - Art - Ideal. Lukas, Berlin 2014, pp. 135–143 ( limited preview on Google Books ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The years vary. 1842 when digitizing the scientific collections of the Humboldt University in Berlin , 1843 with Rolf Thomas Senn: Puss in Boots - a misunderstanding? Poet, King and Public Opinion. In: Jörg Meiner, Jan Werquet (ed.): Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Of Prussia. Politics - Art - Ideal. Lukas, Berlin 2014, pp. 135–143, here: p. 140. “Around 1842” is given by AKG images for the copy in the German Historical Museum Berlin .
  2. ^ Günter Junge: Wilhelm Storck: portrait and history painter, Polilischer Karikalurist of the German pre-March. His life and work. Storck, Hamburg 1998, p. 66.
  3. ↑ As a digital version in better quality to be found in the Scientific Collections at the Humboldt University of Berlin . Collection activities and collections portal.
  4. ↑ Christina von Hodenberg : Revolt of the weavers. The 1844 revolt and its rise to myth. Dietz, Bonn 1997, p. 70.
  5. ^ Remigius Brückmann : King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann, Berlin 1981, pp. 147–161, here: p. 152.
  6. ^ Franz Herre : Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The other Prussian king. Katz, Gernsbach 2007, p. 84.
  7. ^ Remigius Brückmann: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann, Berlin 1981, pp. 147–161, here: p. 152.
  8. ↑ Christopher Clark : Prussia. Rise and fall 1600–1947. Pantheon, Munich 2007, p. 514.
  9. ^ Remigius Brückmann: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann. Berlin 1981. pp. 147–161, here: p. 152.
  10. ↑ Gisold Lammel: The King as a Bottle In: Peter Betthausen, Irene Kahlau, Karl-Heinz Noack (Red.): Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Artist and King, for his 200th birthday. Fichter, Frankfurt 1995, pp. 178-184, here: p. 180.
  11. ↑ Gisold Lammel: German cartoons. From the Middle Ages to today. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 1995, p. 173 ( preview ).
  12. ^ Remigius Brückmann: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann, Berlin 1981, pp. 147–161, here: p. 150.
  13. ^ Remigius Brückmann: King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and the political caricature of the years 1840–1849. In: Sonja Günther, Barbara Volkmann (eds.): Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an era. Frölich & Kaufmann, Berlin 1981, pp. 147–161, here: p. 150.
  14. ^ Hilmar Frank : Friedrich Wilhelm IV. And the love of caricature. The Royal Police Commissioner's unknown collection. In: Peter Krüger, Julius H. Schoeps (ed.): The misunderstood monarch. Friedrich Wilhelm IV. In his time. Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam 1997, pp. 267–286, here: p. 274.
This article was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 7, 2018 in this version .